WYFF 4 decided to take a look back on the case of Susan Smith and the alleged disappearance of her children due to Smith becoming eligible for parole on Nov. 4. Previously, we took an in-depth look into the search for Michael and Alexander Smith in October 1994 after their mother claimed a Black man kidnapped them during a carjacking.All of the details in Smith’s story, including the red light at the Monarch Mills intersection with the absence of cars on the road, the discrepancies in her stories about where she was headed on Oct. 25 and the fact that her car was still missing, made investigators doubt her. But the question still stood: where was Smith’s car? Union County Sheriff Howard Wells, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart and FBI agents working the case came together after Day 6 of the search, concluding that Smith was lying about her involvement in the disappearance of her children.Since the beginning of the investigation, investigators planned out interrogations of Smith to slowly break her down so she would confess to the crimes. Reportedly, Wells and FBI Agent Pete Logan acted as the “good cops.” Logan would act gently toward Smith to gain her trust. This was based on the belief that if enough trust was built, authorities could coax Smith into confessing.The Director of Forensic Sciences for SLED, Agent David Caldwell, who was interviewing Smith, obtained a letter from her ex-boyfriend, Tom Findlay. The letter was a copy of the one Findlay sent to Smith, ending their relationship. Findlay was surprised by her bitterness and told investigators she acted vindictively. This information, combined with Caldwell’s own observation of Smith’s angry outburst, was used to develop a possible motive.Authorities said that greed and ambition had pushed Smith into getting rid of her children by murdering them.One investigator’s tactic was to build a media frenzy directed toward Susan and her husband, David Smith. An example of investigators shaping the news was at the Nov. 1, 1994, press conference held by Wells. This conference took place a week after Susan Smith made her original claim that her children had been kidnapped by a Black man. Officials said that Wells’ words were meticulously planned as he met with many reporters in the parking lot of the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Wells directed his statement covertly to Susan Smith. Wells said, “We are following old information that we have just not gotten to. I don’t think it’s developed into anything as of yet to be any more excited about than yesterday.”On Nov. 3, 1994, Susan and David Smith had interviews planned on three television network morning programs as it has been nine days since the alleged carjacking and disappearance of their children. During these interviews, Susan and David Smith sat on the living room sofa, holding each other’s hands.During their interview with “CBS This Morning,” Susan Smith was asked if she had any role in her children’s disappearance. Susan Smith said, “I did not have anything to do with the abduction of my children. Whoever did this is a sick and emotionally unstable person.”Even though David and Susan Smith were legally separated at the time, when he was asked if he believed his wife, David Smith said, “Yes, I believe my wife, totally.”Although the parents were scheduled for another interview with the Union Daily Times newspaper afterward, the interview was canceled due to the “couple being exhausted,” officials said.At 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, Susan Smith told her mother that she and David Smith were going to run errands. In reality, Wells called for her to move into a safe house for another interrogation.During the interrogation, Susan Smith provided a newly revised statement that was the same as her previous story but with one singular change. The previously named “Monarch Mills” red light was changed to “Carlisle.” Logan asked Susan Smith if she wanted to add anything else to her statement, but she declined.At 1:40 p.m., Wells and Susan Smith met in a room in the Family Center of the First Baptist Church in Union. Wells confronted Susan Smith about her story of the carjacking, claiming he knew her story was a lie. He stated that she could not stop at the red light at the Monarch Mills intersection if there were no other cars on the road. He also told her that there were inconsistencies in the story and that even her “revised” story was a lie. Wells told Susan Smith that undercover officers were working a drug investigation at the Carlisle intersection on the night of Oct. 25, and they did not see the alleged carjacker. Wells told Susan Smith that he would have to tell the media that her story about the Black carjacker was a lie because her accusation caused tension in Union’s Black community.Reportedly, after Wells told Susan Smith this, she asked him to pray with her. After the prayer, Wells said, “Susan, it is time.” Susan Smith said, “I am so ashamed,” before revealing that her children were not alright. She confessed to Wells her strong desire to kill herself while driving her Mazda on Highway 49 the night of Oct. 25. She had originally planned to drive her kids to her mother’s house, but felt even her mom could not help her. Susan Smith continued to speak about her previous abortion, her difficult marriage with David Smith, and her affair with Findlay.Investigators came in to get Susan Smith’s written confession, where she explained that she drove off Highway 49 and onto the road leading to John D. Long Lake because she wanted to kill herself. Susan Smith believed her sons were better off with her and God than if they were left without a mother. The choice was made. Susan Smith, Michael and Alexander would die together.Investigators said Susan Smith put the car in neutral and let it roll down the boat ramp in an attempt to end all of their lives, but she pulled the parking brake and stopped the car. Susan Smith said she did this three times before she stood outside the car and reached in to release the parking brake, which sent the car into John D. Long Lake.Susan Smith told investigators how much she loved her sons and that she never meant to harm them. Immediately after sending her kids into the lake, she regretted her choice and wished to undo it, but it was too late. As she ran to the closest home, she planned out the story of the carjacker.After Susan Smith’s confession, Wells was left to confirm her statements. Wells also wanted to confirm her confession before telling her husband, David Smith.Wells requested a team of divers from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and SLED agents to search John D. Long Lake for Susan Smith’s car. The first dive yielded no results, but after one of the divers was told the details of Susan Smith’s confession, the underside of the upside-down Mazda was found six minutes into the second dive. The car was found at a depth of about 18 feet, at which the visibility was only 12 inches.During the initial attempts to search John D. Long Lake, experts made a big mistake when they told divers to assume anyone attempting to hide a car would drive the vehicle into the water at high speeds. The experts did not consider someone would let the car roll into the water from the shore. This meant the vehicle was deeper in the water than expected and nearly 100 feet from the shore. The divers were able to confirm an occupant on either side of the vehicle and reported their findings to Wells. Wells immediately flew from the lake in the SLED helicopter to tell David and Susan Smith’s parents that Michael and Alexander had been found. The family had already heard about Susan Smith’s confession to murdering her children from an unconfirmed Associated Press article. Wells told the family that Susan Smith had been arrested and charged with two counts of murder and that a bond hearing was scheduled for the following day, Nov. 4.Following Susan Smith’s arrest, strong hatred was directed toward her. She was greeted with shouts of “murderer” and “baby killer” as she was escorted to the car taking her to the York County Jail.Later that evening, on Nov. 3, Wells held a press conference announcing Susan Smith’s arrest for the murder of her sons. Wells also announced to the media that Susan Smith’s Mazda was found with two bodies inside. Some attendees were outraged as, up until the confirmation of Susan Smith’s involvement, the story of the Black carjacker was believed by many.Following the press conference, Wells returned to the lake when the car was pulled from the water. The vehicle reportedly took about 45 minutes to be pulled from the bottom to shallow water through the mud. When the car was pulled, the windshield of the car was cracked due to the temperature changes and the water pressure at the bottom of the lake.Michael and Alexander’s bodies were transported to the University of South Carolina Medical Center in Charleston, and autopsies were performed on Nov. 4.In the days following the news of Susan Smith’s confession, many newspapers condemned those who were quick to believe Black people were responsible for the carjacking and other societal problems.To show how much national attention this gained, an article from Bangor Daily News in Maine published an article on Nov. 7, 1994, titled “Prejudice is convenient answer when truth’s hidden.” The article stated, “Most people easily accepted the mother’s ready-made profile of a criminal capable of the worst kind of evil — he was a black man.”The article titled, “Blacks say hoax perpetuates a stereotype,” published by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Nov. 7 in Washington, quoted Oscar Eason, a Seattle engineer who is the national president of Blacks In Government. Eason said, “When you think of crime in America, we have to stop thinking about African Americans.”On the night of Nov. 4, the day after Susan Smith’s confession, a town meeting was held in Union, where the people of Union pledged their desire for unity in the face of the tragedy. More than 100 people, both Black and white, attended the meeting, hoping to find comfort and send a message to the nation that Union was not racially divided.On the same day, Susan Smith’s brother, Scotty Vaughn, apologized to the Black community of Union. Vaughn said, “We apologize to all of the Black citizens of Union and everywhere and hope you won’t believe any of the rumors that this was ever a racial issue.”On Sunday, Nov. 6, the closed-casket funeral for Michael and Alexander was held at the Buffalo Methodist Church about 5 miles outside of Union. The brothers were buried together in a white casket with gold trim in the cemetery behind the Bogansville United Methodist Church.Susan Smith’s trialAfter Susan Smith’s arrest, she was held without bond in the York County Jail. Susan Smith’s parents, Beverly and Linda Russell, hired David Bruck, a Columbia attorney specializing in death penalty cases, to represent her. Her parents would eventually have to mortgage their home to pay for Bruck’s legal services.Prior to defending Susan Smith, Bruck represented 50 people charged with capital murder. Of the 50 clients he defended, only three were served the death sentence. Most of these clients were given life sentences, except for one case that ended in acquittal.Bruck hired Judith Clarke, an attorney who is an expert in death penalty cases, to assist him with Susan Smith’s trial. Clarke is a federal public defender from the state of Washington who took a leave of absence from her job to work on Susan Smith’s defense. Clarke would go on to work on the defense of Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, in 1997. In the Unabomber trial, Clarke worked up a plea that spared Kaczynski from the death sentence.The prosecutor for Susan Smith’s trial was 32-year-old Union County solicitor Thomas Pope, who, at the time of the Smith trial, was the youngest prosecutor in South Carolina. Pope is the son of a South Carolina sheriff and had tried one other murder case before the Smith case. The case was of a father who confessed to smothering his son. In that case, Pope accepted a plea bargain of an eight-year prison sentence for the father.On Nov. 18, 1994, a hearing was held at the request of Pope to have Susan Smith undergo a psychological exam by an impartial physician to determine whether she was criminally responsible for the crime she had confessed to and if she was competent to stand trial. Bruck would object to this, stating the information obtained in the exam could later be used against Susan Smith if Pope wanted to seek the death penalty.In late November, the judge ruled against the examination, stating it was premature due to Bruck not stating if Susan Smith would offer an insanity defense at her trial.Three weeks after Susan Smith’s confession, she asked her husband, David Smith, to visit her at the correctional facility, where they met for an hour. In this meeting, Susan Smith repeatedly apologized for killing their children.On Jan. 16, 1995, Pope filed a notice of intention to seek the death penalty in Susan Smith’s trial.According to officials, the two circumstances that make Susan Smith eligible for the death sentence are that she murdered two people during one act and that the murders were committed against children under the age of 11.On Jan. 27, Judge William Howard issued a gag order that prohibited any prejudicial information to be released before it had been presented to the court.In February, Susan Smith’s defense hired a team of psychiatrists led by Seymour Halleck to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of Susan Smith at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Columbia. Susan Smith was interviewed by Halleck for 15 hours over the course of four sessions in February, May and June.In Halleck’s opinion, Susan Smith did not suffer from deep depression. Halleck diagnosed Susan Smith as having a dependent personality disorder. “She constantly needs affection and becomes terrified that she will be left alone,” Halleck stated. He found that Susan Smith was only depressed when she was alone.On March 23, 1995, Howard ordered Susan Smith to undergo an evaluation on behalf of the prosecution by Donald Morgan, a psychiatrist from the University of South Carolina.In May of 1995, David and Susan Smith’s divorce was finalized. Susan Smith waived her right to attend a brief hearing, and Findlay testified about their affair. In the Smiths’ final settlement, their children’s toys and clothes were equally divided. David Smith received the Mazda that Susan Smith rolled into the lake, and he later had the vehicle destroyed following her criminal trial.On June 30, 1995, a discussion was had in a Union courtroom on whether to televise the Susan Smith trial. Howard decided against televising the trial as he agreed with Bruck that televising the proceedings might have an effect on witnesses and the jury, according to Washington State University.The decision to ban cameras in the courtroom was partially because of the hectic environment created in the O.J. Simpson trial that was ongoing in Los Angeles, California.Before Susan Smith’s trial was set to begin on July 18, Bruck proposed that Susan Smith plead guilty to the murders and be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, this plea was rejected by Pope.To the shock of many, Bruck did not request to change the venue where the trial was held. Bruck was reportedly convinced if he could gain the sympathy of Susan Smith’s hometown, he could spare her from the death penalty. Bruck discovered many people in Union softened and were willing to accept she was suffering from mental illness rather than believing she was simply evil.Days prior to the trial, Susan Smith’s pastor, Mark Long, held a press conference revealing Susan Smith had a Christian conversion and baptism in jail.Following a two-day hearing on July 11, Howard ruled Susan Smith was mentally competent to stand trial. The ruling was made even though Morgan testified that he believed she might attempt to sabotage her own trial at the witness stand because she wanted to die.The jury selection moved quickly and was completed on July 16. Many people were called during the process, and 55 prospective jurors were interviewed out of all 250. Of those interviewed, many said they were against the death penalty. The 12 jurors selected and two alternates were composed of seven white people and five Black people. It was reported that almost all of the white jurors had friends and acquaintances on the witness list during the trial. None of the Black jurors seemed to be acquainted with Susan Smith, her friends, family or people listed as witnesses for the trial.After the jury was selected, Bruck argued the jury was biased as it contained nine men and only three women. He said the jury was not representative of the community. However, this was overruled by the judge.According to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the day the trial was set to begin on July 18, the Union County courthouse received a bomb threat, and the court was evacuated. SLED quickly identified the caller as 44-year-old Larry Darnell Brown from Anderson. Brown was charged with threatening to kill, injure or intimidate individuals or damage or destroy property by means of explosive or incendiary. On July 19, 1995, the opening statements of the trial began. Special Prosecutor Keith Giese, assistant to Pope, began by stating the facts of the prosecution’s case. He started by saying, “for nine days in the fall of 1994, Susan Smith looked this country in the eye and lied.” Giese then told jurors that they would come to see Susan Smith as a selfish, manipulative killer who sacrificed her children for the love of a man who rejected her, Findlay.Clarke gave the defense’s opening statement, asking the jurors to look into their hearts and find a child-like figure who, after battling a life of sadness, finally snapped. Clarke told the jurors that Susan Smith was extremely depressed and had a sense of failure throughout her life. This sense of failure included being molested by her stepfather, her father’s suicide, and Susan Smith’s own attempts to take her life. Clarke claimed at the last second, Susan Smith’s body made itself get out of the car, but her mind wanted all three of them to die as the car rolled into the lake with her children.The defense believed if they portrayed Susan Smith as an emotional wreck, they could save her from the death sentence. Her defense did not claim Susan Smith was insane.Rather than appearing child-like, as Susan Smith’s defense suggested, she appeared older than her actual age of 23. She wore plain, conservative suits and wire-rimmed glasses that aged her. Throughout the trial, she sat at the defense table, quietly reading mail or playing with small objects she held in her hands.The first witness to testify at the trial was McCloud. McCloud testified about Susan Smith’s appearance at her front door. McCloud said that when Susan Smith’s mother arrived, one of the first things that she did was scold Susan Smith for not locking her car doors.Wells testified about how he tricked Susan Smith into confessing by lying. On Nov. 3, 1994, when Wells confronted Susan Smith, he told her that he knew the revised story of the “carjacking” to be a lie, as he had undercover officers working a drug investigation at the Carlisle intersection, where Susan Smith claimed to be stopped on Oct. 25.Wells also testified that even though he had suspicions of Susan Smith, he did not arrest her until she confessed what had happened to her sons, as he was not certain.On the second day of the trial, Logan, the SLED agent who spent 24 hours interrogating Susan Smith, testified. Logan told the jurors that Susan Smith had sex with David Smith just four days prior to murdering her sons. Logan testified Susan Smith claimed David Smith told her that he knew about the affair she was having. Logan also talked about Susan Smith’s prior suicide attempts and the remorse that she showed during her confession.Additional authorities testified after Logan, with these witnesses stating that Susan Smith seemed more interested in how she looked for the cameras than in finding her children. The investigators also stated Susan Smith would talk about going to the beach to get away from the media during the search.”She would make sobbing noises, but when I would looked at her eyes, there was no water, there were no tears,” said David Espie on the witness stand, the FBI agent who administered several polygraph tests of Susan Smith. One of the divers who found Susan Smith’s car, Steve Morrow, testified about his findings when searching for the vehicle. He stated all of the windows were rolled up and that all four doors were closed. Morrow saw a small hand against the window glass, and the children were in car seats hanging upside down at the bottom of the lake. Morrow said he found the letter that Findlay wrote Susan Smith, breaking off their affair, in the car as well.Findlay testified, introducing the letter he wrote Susan Smith to the jury. In the letter, Findlay explained he did not want to be in a relationship that included children.Findlay was then cross-exanimated by Bruck. Findlay helped Susan Smith’s defense by describing her as a “sweet, loving person” rather than the monster that the prosecution was trying to show. Findlay also testified of an incident that happened a year before the murders when he called Susan Smith one day at her home. Apparently, David Smith hid in a closet and, in an apparent fit of jealously, came out of the closet to take the phone from Susan Smith and tell Findlay that he would harm him if he saw Susan Smith again.Reportedly, three of Susan Smith’s coworkers testified, claiming that she had previously spoken of wondering what her life would be like if she did not marry and have children at a young age.The final testimony for the prosecution was made by Sandra Conradi, the pathologist who performed the autopsies on Michael and Alexander. Howard would not allow prosecutors to show images of Michael and Alexander to the jury, as the brothers had been under the lake for nine days. The judge also refused to allow prosecutors to question Conradi about the level of decay the condition of the bodies were in because he felt that the descriptions were so terrible that they would be prejudicial. So, Conradi testified she received the brothers’ bodies still strapped to their car seats and that neither one of the boys was wearing shoes.Due to Susan Smith’s confession to the murder of her sons, the defense had two options. The first was to have Susan Smith plead not guilty by reason of insanity, which would require her attorneys to prove she was insane at the time of the murders. The second choice was to have her plead guilty but mentally ill. This meant the attorneys had to prove Susan Smith was not mentally capable of complying with the law at the time of the murders, even if she knew that her actions were wrong.The only option the defense had was to plead that Susan Smith was suffering from severe depression and that the murders were a suicide attempt in which Susan Smith planned to drown herself along with her kids.The defense began presenting its case on July 20, 1995. Bruck brought back Logan and an FBI agent, Carol Allison, who was called by the prosecution. Bruck questioned both Logan and Allison of Susan Smith’s remorse, which Pope tried to counter by telling the jury Susan Smith was a liar who misled investigators for nine days.A social worker at the University of South Carolina was called to the stand. She made a family tree for Susan Smith that pointed out a strong history of depression throughout the Vaughn family. The social worker testified that several members of Susan Smith’s family history attempted suicide, and some were successful.According to court documents, the defense’s most important witness, Halleck, testified on July 21. He testified Susan Smith was severely depressed and had thoughts of suicide in the months leading up to the murders. The suicidal thoughts manifested into a destructive cycle of sexual relationships in order to ease her loneliness. Halleck stated Susan Smith had sex with four different partners in the six weeks prior to the murders, in which Susan Smith began to drink heavily.Halleck stated Susan Smith had sex with her estranged husband, David Smith, her boyfriend at the time, Findlay, the owner of the mill where she worked, Carey Findlay, and with her stepfather, Beverly Russell.Susan Smith’s sexual relationship with her stepfather reportedly began when she was younger, as he would molest her, but later turned consensual. The month before, in June 1995, Susan Smith received a letter from Beverly Russell. He wrote, “My heart breaks for what I have done to you.” He added, “I want you to know that you do not have all the guilt for this tragedy.” The letter from Beverly Russell was dated June 18, 1995, which was Father’s Day.Halleck said that Susan Smith’s sexual relationships would help with her depression, but her guilt would make it worse. Halleck told the jury that “Much of her sexual activity was not for her own satisfaction.” And added that, “Susan was more concerned with pleasing others and making sure that they liked her.”This testimony by Halleck was an effort to poke holes in the prosecution’s case that Susan Smith murdered her kids to rekindle a relationship with Tom Findlay. Halleck said that Susan Smith had “strong feelings for a lot of different men and that it was very unlikely that Tom Findlay was number one on her list.”Halleck added that Susan Smith would sleep with Carey Findlay because she was molested by her stepfather. Halleck said that Susan Smith told him when she had sex with her stepfather, it would make her “skin crawl.” Halleck stated Susan Smith did these things because the relationship with her stepfather made her have a need for approval and love from older men.Halleck continued his testimony, claiming survival instincts kicked in for Susan Smith, and that blocked out the presence of Michael and Alexander from her mind as she released the parking brake. Halleck testified that Susan Smith came up with the story because she was afraid of what people would think of her.When Bruck asked Halleck, “Why didn’t Susan go into the water,” he replied that self-preservation took over and even though she fully intended to kill herself, she got frightened.On July 22, the closing arguments were given to the court. The prosecution began with Pope describing the children’s deaths. “They were in that car, screaming, crying, calling for their father, while the woman who placed them in that car was running up the hill with her hands covering her ears,” Pope said.Pope added, “She used the emergency brake handle like a gun and eliminated her toddlers so that she could have a chance at a life with Tom Findlay.”The defense’s closing statement was given by Clarke. She chose to continue to appeal to the sympathy of the jury by stating Susan Smith had never shown anything but “unconditional love for her children.” Clarke claimed it was not murder as there was no malice in Susan Smith’s actions. She added, “This is not a case about evil, but a case of sadness and despair.”Howard ruled in favor of the defense’s motion to allow the jury to consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. If the jury chose to convict Susan Smith of involuntary manslaughter, she would have gotten a sentence of only three to 10 years in prison.According to documents, the judge dismissed one of the jurors before the deliberations began. The judge said this was due to a family tie the juror had to the case. An alternate replaced the juror.Late that evening, after the jurors deliberated for two and a half hours, the verdict was determined that Susan Smith was guilty of two counts of murder.When the verdict was read, Susan Smith dropped her head and cried.The penalty phase would begin on July 24, 1995. The same jury that convicted Susan Smith of murder would determine her fate — life in prison or the chair. The prosecution’s opening statement for the penalty phase of the trial was similar to the one given during the trial. Giese reminded the jury of Susan Smith’s lies during the search.In the opening statement for the defense, Bruck told the jury that “The greatest punishment for Susan Smith would be life in prison, not death.”The prosecution began the case by showing a video of Susan Smith lying about the disappearance of her sons. The first tape was of Susan Smith’s plea to the carjacker she gave on Nov. 2, 1994. The second was the interviews Susan Smith had given network programs on the day she confessed, Nov. 3.One of the three testimonies was given by Eddie Harris, a SLED agent. He testified that while he transported Susan Smith during interrogations, he was surprised by her calmness and disinterest in finding her kids. Harris further testified that Susan Smith once asked how she looked on television.On July 25, 1995, Susan Smith’s now ex-husband, David Smith, testified, saying, “All my hopes, all my dreams, everything that I had planned for the rest of my life, ended” on Oct. 25, 1994. David Smith cried when talking about the fact he spent nine days believing his wife that a carjacker took his kids.Howard called a recess for David Smith to collect himself. Reportedly, as Susan Smith was escorted back to the holding cell, she apologized to David Smith softly, but he did not look at her.After the meeting resumed, Pope raised some topics that could raise some concerns, including the amount of money David Smith was paid for co-writing a book about his life with Susan Smith. He testified he was paid $110,000 and kept $20,000 of the money to help him through the trial due to having to take time off from work.After about two hours of testimony, lunch recess was called, and David Smith collapsed into his father’s arms after being emotionally drained from giving his testimony.People were surprised when the defense did not cross-examine David Smith. Bruck later revealed this was due to “his client asking him not to.”On July 27, the judge finally allowed the prosecution to show images of Michael and Alexander to the jury after they were pulled from the lake. He would only allow certain images, though, as he thought some of the photos were still too graphic. Following this, the prosecution rested its case.The defense recalled the social worker to the stand. She claimed Susan Smith’s mental health began to deteriorate in August 1994 after the Smiths’ last attempt to reconcile their marriage failed. The social worker explained that David Smith had found the letter Tom Findlay had written to Susan Smith. When David confronted Susan Smith, she confessed to the affair with Tom Findlay’s father, Carey Findlay. David Smith threatened Susan Smith by stating he would reveal the relationship to Findlay’s wife. The social worker said this caused Susan Smith’s suicidal despair to kick in as she had done something unforgivable. Five days after the confrontation, Susan Smith murdered her kids.Scotty Vaughn testified by stating it seemed sad and ironic that the tragedy of their loss of the boys was going to be used to sentence Susan Smith to death.On the last day of the penalty phase, Beverly Russell was called to the stand. In his testimony, he took part of the blame for Alexander and Michael’s deaths, admitting he had molested Susan Smith when she was a teen and then had consensual sex with her when she became an adult.Beverly Russell pleaded for his stepdaughter’s life, telling the jury that Susan Smith was sick and that although she loved her kids, what happened was from a sickness.The prosecution’s closing statement was given by Pope. He asked the jury to vote for the death penalty, stating there was a theme throughout the case, and that was the choice Susan Smith had made. He added that she chose to send her boys down that boat ramp and that, to take the heinous act even further, she chose to lie about it.The defense closed things by taking the jury through Susan Smith’s family history and her life experiences. Near the end, Bruck decided to pull out a Bible and read from the Book of John about the woman who committed adultery and was stoned. Bruck read, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” He finished his statement by telling the jury that Susan Smith’s choice will haunt her for the rest of her life.When the closing statements were finished, Howard gave Susan Smith the opportunity to address the jury for the last time, but she declined.After two and a half hours, the jury returned with the unanimous decision for Susan Smith to spend the rest of her natural life in prison.Howard sentenced Susan Smith to 30 years to life in prison, and she will be eligible for parole as of November 2024.
WYFF 4 decided to take a look back on the case of Susan Smith and the alleged disappearance of her children due to Smith becoming eligible for parole on Nov. 4.
Previously, we took an in-depth look into the search for Michael and Alexander Smith in October 1994 after their mother claimed a Black man kidnapped them during a carjacking.
All of the details in Smith’s story, including the red light at the Monarch Mills intersection with the absence of cars on the road, the discrepancies in her stories about where she was headed on Oct. 25 and the fact that her car was still missing, made investigators doubt her. But the question still stood: where was Smith’s car?
Union County Sheriff Howard Wells, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart and FBI agents working the case came together after Day 6 of the search, concluding that Smith was lying about her involvement in the disappearance of her children.
Since the beginning of the investigation, investigators planned out interrogations of Smith to slowly break her down so she would confess to the crimes. Reportedly, Wells and FBI Agent Pete Logan acted as the “good cops.” Logan would act gently toward Smith to gain her trust. This was based on the belief that if enough trust was built, authorities could coax Smith into confessing.
The Director of Forensic Sciences for SLED, Agent David Caldwell, who was interviewing Smith, obtained a letter from her ex-boyfriend, Tom Findlay. The letter was a copy of the one Findlay sent to Smith, ending their relationship. Findlay was surprised by her bitterness and told investigators she acted vindictively. This information, combined with Caldwell’s own observation of Smith’s angry outburst, was used to develop a possible motive.
Authorities said that greed and ambition had pushed Smith into getting rid of her children by murdering them.
One investigator’s tactic was to build a media frenzy directed toward Susan and her husband, David Smith. An example of investigators shaping the news was at the Nov. 1, 1994, press conference held by Wells. This conference took place a week after Susan Smith made her original claim that her children had been kidnapped by a Black man. Officials said that Wells’ words were meticulously planned as he met with many reporters in the parking lot of the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Wells directed his statement covertly to Susan Smith.
Wells said, “We are following old information that we have just not gotten to. I don’t think it’s developed into anything as of yet to be any more excited about than yesterday.”
On Nov. 3, 1994, Susan and David Smith had interviews planned on three television network morning programs as it has been nine days since the alleged carjacking and disappearance of their children. During these interviews, Susan and David Smith sat on the living room sofa, holding each other’s hands.
During their interview with “CBS This Morning,” Susan Smith was asked if she had any role in her children’s disappearance.
Susan Smith said, “I did not have anything to do with the abduction of my children. Whoever did this is a sick and emotionally unstable person.”
Even though David and Susan Smith were legally separated at the time, when he was asked if he believed his wife, David Smith said, “Yes, I believe my wife, totally.”
Although the parents were scheduled for another interview with the Union Daily Times newspaper afterward, the interview was canceled due to the “couple being exhausted,” officials said.
At 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, Susan Smith told her mother that she and David Smith were going to run errands. In reality, Wells called for her to move into a safe house for another interrogation.
During the interrogation, Susan Smith provided a newly revised statement that was the same as her previous story but with one singular change. The previously named “Monarch Mills” red light was changed to “Carlisle.” Logan asked Susan Smith if she wanted to add anything else to her statement, but she declined.
At 1:40 p.m., Wells and Susan Smith met in a room in the Family Center of the First Baptist Church in Union. Wells confronted Susan Smith about her story of the carjacking, claiming he knew her story was a lie. He stated that she could not stop at the red light at the Monarch Mills intersection if there were no other cars on the road. He also told her that there were inconsistencies in the story and that even her “revised” story was a lie.
Wells told Susan Smith that undercover officers were working a drug investigation at the Carlisle intersection on the night of Oct. 25, and they did not see the alleged carjacker. Wells told Susan Smith that he would have to tell the media that her story about the Black carjacker was a lie because her accusation caused tension in Union’s Black community.
Reportedly, after Wells told Susan Smith this, she asked him to pray with her. After the prayer, Wells said, “Susan, it is time.”
Susan Smith said, “I am so ashamed,” before revealing that her children were not alright. She confessed to Wells her strong desire to kill herself while driving her Mazda on Highway 49 the night of Oct. 25. She had originally planned to drive her kids to her mother’s house, but felt even her mom could not help her. Susan Smith continued to speak about her previous abortion, her difficult marriage with David Smith, and her affair with Findlay.
Investigators came in to get Susan Smith’s written confession, where she explained that she drove off Highway 49 and onto the road leading to John D. Long Lake because she wanted to kill herself. Susan Smith believed her sons were better off with her and God than if they were left without a mother. The choice was made. Susan Smith, Michael and Alexander would die together.
Investigators said Susan Smith put the car in neutral and let it roll down the boat ramp in an attempt to end all of their lives, but she pulled the parking brake and stopped the car. Susan Smith said she did this three times before she stood outside the car and reached in to release the parking brake, which sent the car into John D. Long Lake.
Susan Smith told investigators how much she loved her sons and that she never meant to harm them. Immediately after sending her kids into the lake, she regretted her choice and wished to undo it, but it was too late. As she ran to the closest home, she planned out the story of the carjacker.
After Susan Smith’s confession, Wells was left to confirm her statements. Wells also wanted to confirm her confession before telling her husband, David Smith.
Wells requested a team of divers from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and SLED agents to search John D. Long Lake for Susan Smith’s car. The first dive yielded no results, but after one of the divers was told the details of Susan Smith’s confession, the underside of the upside-down Mazda was found six minutes into the second dive. The car was found at a depth of about 18 feet, at which the visibility was only 12 inches.
During the initial attempts to search John D. Long Lake, experts made a big mistake when they told divers to assume anyone attempting to hide a car would drive the vehicle into the water at high speeds. The experts did not consider someone would let the car roll into the water from the shore. This meant the vehicle was deeper in the water than expected and nearly 100 feet from the shore.
The divers were able to confirm an occupant on either side of the vehicle and reported their findings to Wells. Wells immediately flew from the lake in the SLED helicopter to tell David and Susan Smith’s parents that Michael and Alexander had been found. The family had already heard about Susan Smith’s confession to murdering her children from an unconfirmed Associated Press article. Wells told the family that Susan Smith had been arrested and charged with two counts of murder and that a bond hearing was scheduled for the following day, Nov. 4.
Following Susan Smith’s arrest, strong hatred was directed toward her. She was greeted with shouts of “murderer” and “baby killer” as she was escorted to the car taking her to the York County Jail.
Later that evening, on Nov. 3, Wells held a press conference announcing Susan Smith’s arrest for the murder of her sons. Wells also announced to the media that Susan Smith’s Mazda was found with two bodies inside. Some attendees were outraged as, up until the confirmation of Susan Smith’s involvement, the story of the Black carjacker was believed by many.
Following the press conference, Wells returned to the lake when the car was pulled from the water. The vehicle reportedly took about 45 minutes to be pulled from the bottom to shallow water through the mud. When the car was pulled, the windshield of the car was cracked due to the temperature changes and the water pressure at the bottom of the lake.
Michael and Alexander’s bodies were transported to the University of South Carolina Medical Center in Charleston, and autopsies were performed on Nov. 4.
In the days following the news of Susan Smith’s confession, many newspapers condemned those who were quick to believe Black people were responsible for the carjacking and other societal problems.
To show how much national attention this gained, an article from Bangor Daily News in Maine published an article on Nov. 7, 1994, titled “Prejudice is convenient answer when truth’s hidden.“ The article stated, “Most people easily accepted the mother’s ready-made profile of a criminal capable of the worst kind of evil — he was a black man.”
The article titled, “Blacks say hoax perpetuates a stereotype,” published by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Nov. 7 in Washington, quoted Oscar Eason, a Seattle engineer who is the national president of Blacks In Government. Eason said, “When you think of crime in America, we have to stop thinking about African Americans.”
On the night of Nov. 4, the day after Susan Smith’s confession, a town meeting was held in Union, where the people of Union pledged their desire for unity in the face of the tragedy. More than 100 people, both Black and white, attended the meeting, hoping to find comfort and send a message to the nation that Union was not racially divided.
On the same day, Susan Smith’s brother, Scotty Vaughn, apologized to the Black community of Union. Vaughn said, “We apologize to all of the Black citizens of Union and everywhere and hope you won’t believe any of the rumors that this was ever a racial issue.”
On Sunday, Nov. 6, the closed-casket funeral for Michael and Alexander was held at the Buffalo Methodist Church about 5 miles outside of Union. The brothers were buried together in a white casket with gold trim in the cemetery behind the Bogansville United Methodist Church.
Susan Smith’s trial
After Susan Smith’s arrest, she was held without bond in the York County Jail. Susan Smith’s parents, Beverly and Linda Russell, hired David Bruck, a Columbia attorney specializing in death penalty cases, to represent her. Her parents would eventually have to mortgage their home to pay for Bruck’s legal services.
Prior to defending Susan Smith, Bruck represented 50 people charged with capital murder. Of the 50 clients he defended, only three were served the death sentence. Most of these clients were given life sentences, except for one case that ended in acquittal.
Bruck hired Judith Clarke, an attorney who is an expert in death penalty cases, to assist him with Susan Smith’s trial. Clarke is a federal public defender from the state of Washington who took a leave of absence from her job to work on Susan Smith’s defense. Clarke would go on to work on the defense of Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, in 1997. In the Unabomber trial, Clarke worked up a plea that spared Kaczynski from the death sentence.
The prosecutor for Susan Smith’s trial was 32-year-old Union County solicitor Thomas Pope, who, at the time of the Smith trial, was the youngest prosecutor in South Carolina. Pope is the son of a South Carolina sheriff and had tried one other murder case before the Smith case. The case was of a father who confessed to smothering his son. In that case, Pope accepted a plea bargain of an eight-year prison sentence for the father.
On Nov. 18, 1994, a hearing was held at the request of Pope to have Susan Smith undergo a psychological exam by an impartial physician to determine whether she was criminally responsible for the crime she had confessed to and if she was competent to stand trial. Bruck would object to this, stating the information obtained in the exam could later be used against Susan Smith if Pope wanted to seek the death penalty.
In late November, the judge ruled against the examination, stating it was premature due to Bruck not stating if Susan Smith would offer an insanity defense at her trial.
Three weeks after Susan Smith’s confession, she asked her husband, David Smith, to visit her at the correctional facility, where they met for an hour. In this meeting, Susan Smith repeatedly apologized for killing their children.
On Jan. 16, 1995, Pope filed a notice of intention to seek the death penalty in Susan Smith’s trial.
According to officials, the two circumstances that make Susan Smith eligible for the death sentence are that she murdered two people during one act and that the murders were committed against children under the age of 11.
On Jan. 27, Judge William Howard issued a gag order that prohibited any prejudicial information to be released before it had been presented to the court.
In February, Susan Smith’s defense hired a team of psychiatrists led by Seymour Halleck to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of Susan Smith at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Columbia. Susan Smith was interviewed by Halleck for 15 hours over the course of four sessions in February, May and June.
In Halleck’s opinion, Susan Smith did not suffer from deep depression. Halleck diagnosed Susan Smith as having a dependent personality disorder. “She constantly needs affection and becomes terrified that she will be left alone,” Halleck stated. He found that Susan Smith was only depressed when she was alone.
On March 23, 1995, Howard ordered Susan Smith to undergo an evaluation on behalf of the prosecution by Donald Morgan, a psychiatrist from the University of South Carolina.
In May of 1995, David and Susan Smith’s divorce was finalized. Susan Smith waived her right to attend a brief hearing, and Findlay testified about their affair. In the Smiths’ final settlement, their children’s toys and clothes were equally divided. David Smith received the Mazda that Susan Smith rolled into the lake, and he later had the vehicle destroyed following her criminal trial.
On June 30, 1995, a discussion was had in a Union courtroom on whether to televise the Susan Smith trial. Howard decided against televising the trial as he agreed with Bruck that televising the proceedings might have an effect on witnesses and the jury, according to Washington State University.
The decision to ban cameras in the courtroom was partially because of the hectic environment created in the O.J. Simpson trial that was ongoing in Los Angeles, California.
Before Susan Smith’s trial was set to begin on July 18, Bruck proposed that Susan Smith plead guilty to the murders and be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, this plea was rejected by Pope.
To the shock of many, Bruck did not request to change the venue where the trial was held. Bruck was reportedly convinced if he could gain the sympathy of Susan Smith’s hometown, he could spare her from the death penalty. Bruck discovered many people in Union softened and were willing to accept she was suffering from mental illness rather than believing she was simply evil.
Days prior to the trial, Susan Smith’s pastor, Mark Long, held a press conference revealing Susan Smith had a Christian conversion and baptism in jail.
Following a two-day hearing on July 11, Howard ruled Susan Smith was mentally competent to stand trial. The ruling was made even though Morgan testified that he believed she might attempt to sabotage her own trial at the witness stand because she wanted to die.
The jury selection moved quickly and was completed on July 16. Many people were called during the process, and 55 prospective jurors were interviewed out of all 250. Of those interviewed, many said they were against the death penalty. The 12 jurors selected and two alternates were composed of seven white people and five Black people. It was reported that almost all of the white jurors had friends and acquaintances on the witness list during the trial. None of the Black jurors seemed to be acquainted with Susan Smith, her friends, family or people listed as witnesses for the trial.
After the jury was selected, Bruck argued the jury was biased as it contained nine men and only three women. He said the jury was not representative of the community. However, this was overruled by the judge.
According to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, the day the trial was set to begin on July 18, the Union County courthouse received a bomb threat, and the court was evacuated. SLED quickly identified the caller as 44-year-old Larry Darnell Brown from Anderson. Brown was charged with threatening to kill, injure or intimidate individuals or damage or destroy property by means of explosive or incendiary.
On July 19, 1995, the opening statements of the trial began. Special Prosecutor Keith Giese, assistant to Pope, began by stating the facts of the prosecution’s case. He started by saying, “for nine days in the fall of 1994, Susan Smith looked this country in the eye and lied.” Giese then told jurors that they would come to see Susan Smith as a selfish, manipulative killer who sacrificed her children for the love of a man who rejected her, Findlay.
Clarke gave the defense’s opening statement, asking the jurors to look into their hearts and find a child-like figure who, after battling a life of sadness, finally snapped. Clarke told the jurors that Susan Smith was extremely depressed and had a sense of failure throughout her life. This sense of failure included being molested by her stepfather, her father’s suicide, and Susan Smith’s own attempts to take her life. Clarke claimed at the last second, Susan Smith’s body made itself get out of the car, but her mind wanted all three of them to die as the car rolled into the lake with her children.
The defense believed if they portrayed Susan Smith as an emotional wreck, they could save her from the death sentence. Her defense did not claim Susan Smith was insane.
Rather than appearing child-like, as Susan Smith’s defense suggested, she appeared older than her actual age of 23. She wore plain, conservative suits and wire-rimmed glasses that aged her. Throughout the trial, she sat at the defense table, quietly reading mail or playing with small objects she held in her hands.
The first witness to testify at the trial was McCloud. McCloud testified about Susan Smith’s appearance at her front door. McCloud said that when Susan Smith’s mother arrived, one of the first things that she did was scold Susan Smith for not locking her car doors.
Wells testified about how he tricked Susan Smith into confessing by lying. On Nov. 3, 1994, when Wells confronted Susan Smith, he told her that he knew the revised story of the “carjacking” to be a lie, as he had undercover officers working a drug investigation at the Carlisle intersection, where Susan Smith claimed to be stopped on Oct. 25.
Wells also testified that even though he had suspicions of Susan Smith, he did not arrest her until she confessed what had happened to her sons, as he was not certain.
On the second day of the trial, Logan, the SLED agent who spent 24 hours interrogating Susan Smith, testified. Logan told the jurors that Susan Smith had sex with David Smith just four days prior to murdering her sons. Logan testified Susan Smith claimed David Smith told her that he knew about the affair she was having. Logan also talked about Susan Smith’s prior suicide attempts and the remorse that she showed during her confession.
Additional authorities testified after Logan, with these witnesses stating that Susan Smith seemed more interested in how she looked for the cameras than in finding her children. The investigators also stated Susan Smith would talk about going to the beach to get away from the media during the search.
“She would make sobbing noises, but when I would looked at her eyes, there was no water, there were no tears,” said David Espie on the witness stand, the FBI agent who administered several polygraph tests of Susan Smith.
One of the divers who found Susan Smith’s car, Steve Morrow, testified about his findings when searching for the vehicle. He stated all of the windows were rolled up and that all four doors were closed. Morrow saw a small hand against the window glass, and the children were in car seats hanging upside down at the bottom of the lake. Morrow said he found the letter that Findlay wrote Susan Smith, breaking off their affair, in the car as well.
Findlay testified, introducing the letter he wrote Susan Smith to the jury. In the letter, Findlay explained he did not want to be in a relationship that included children.
Findlay was then cross-exanimated by Bruck. Findlay helped Susan Smith’s defense by describing her as a “sweet, loving person” rather than the monster that the prosecution was trying to show. Findlay also testified of an incident that happened a year before the murders when he called Susan Smith one day at her home. Apparently, David Smith hid in a closet and, in an apparent fit of jealously, came out of the closet to take the phone from Susan Smith and tell Findlay that he would harm him if he saw Susan Smith again.
Reportedly, three of Susan Smith’s coworkers testified, claiming that she had previously spoken of wondering what her life would be like if she did not marry and have children at a young age.
The final testimony for the prosecution was made by Sandra Conradi, the pathologist who performed the autopsies on Michael and Alexander. Howard would not allow prosecutors to show images of Michael and Alexander to the jury, as the brothers had been under the lake for nine days. The judge also refused to allow prosecutors to question Conradi about the level of decay the condition of the bodies were in because he felt that the descriptions were so terrible that they would be prejudicial. So, Conradi testified she received the brothers’ bodies still strapped to their car seats and that neither one of the boys was wearing shoes.
Due to Susan Smith’s confession to the murder of her sons, the defense had two options. The first was to have Susan Smith plead not guilty by reason of insanity, which would require her attorneys to prove she was insane at the time of the murders. The second choice was to have her plead guilty but mentally ill. This meant the attorneys had to prove Susan Smith was not mentally capable of complying with the law at the time of the murders, even if she knew that her actions were wrong.
The only option the defense had was to plead that Susan Smith was suffering from severe depression and that the murders were a suicide attempt in which Susan Smith planned to drown herself along with her kids.
The defense began presenting its case on July 20, 1995. Bruck brought back Logan and an FBI agent, Carol Allison, who was called by the prosecution. Bruck questioned both Logan and Allison of Susan Smith’s remorse, which Pope tried to counter by telling the jury Susan Smith was a liar who misled investigators for nine days.
A social worker at the University of South Carolina was called to the stand. She made a family tree for Susan Smith that pointed out a strong history of depression throughout the Vaughn family. The social worker testified that several members of Susan Smith’s family history attempted suicide, and some were successful.
According to court documents, the defense’s most important witness, Halleck, testified on July 21. He testified Susan Smith was severely depressed and had thoughts of suicide in the months leading up to the murders. The suicidal thoughts manifested into a destructive cycle of sexual relationships in order to ease her loneliness. Halleck stated Susan Smith had sex with four different partners in the six weeks prior to the murders, in which Susan Smith began to drink heavily.
Halleck stated Susan Smith had sex with her estranged husband, David Smith, her boyfriend at the time, Findlay, the owner of the mill where she worked, Carey Findlay, and with her stepfather, Beverly Russell.
Susan Smith’s sexual relationship with her stepfather reportedly began when she was younger, as he would molest her, but later turned consensual. The month before, in June 1995, Susan Smith received a letter from Beverly Russell. He wrote, “My heart breaks for what I have done to you.” He added, “I want you to know that you do not have all the guilt for this tragedy.” The letter from Beverly Russell was dated June 18, 1995, which was Father’s Day.
Halleck said that Susan Smith’s sexual relationships would help with her depression, but her guilt would make it worse.
Halleck told the jury that “Much of her sexual activity was not for her own satisfaction.” And added that, “Susan was more concerned with pleasing others and making sure that they liked her.”
This testimony by Halleck was an effort to poke holes in the prosecution’s case that Susan Smith murdered her kids to rekindle a relationship with Tom Findlay. Halleck said that Susan Smith had “strong feelings for a lot of different men and that it was very unlikely that Tom Findlay was number one on her list.”
Halleck added that Susan Smith would sleep with Carey Findlay because she was molested by her stepfather. Halleck said that Susan Smith told him when she had sex with her stepfather, it would make her “skin crawl.” Halleck stated Susan Smith did these things because the relationship with her stepfather made her have a need for approval and love from older men.
Halleck continued his testimony, claiming survival instincts kicked in for Susan Smith, and that blocked out the presence of Michael and Alexander from her mind as she released the parking brake. Halleck testified that Susan Smith came up with the story because she was afraid of what people would think of her.
When Bruck asked Halleck, “Why didn’t Susan go into the water,” he replied that self-preservation took over and even though she fully intended to kill herself, she got frightened.
On July 22, the closing arguments were given to the court. The prosecution began with Pope describing the children’s deaths. “They were in that car, screaming, crying, calling for their father, while the woman who placed them in that car was running up the hill with her hands covering her ears,” Pope said.
Pope added, “She used the emergency brake handle like a gun and eliminated her toddlers so that she could have a chance at a life with Tom Findlay.”
The defense’s closing statement was given by Clarke. She chose to continue to appeal to the sympathy of the jury by stating Susan Smith had never shown anything but “unconditional love for her children.” Clarke claimed it was not murder as there was no malice in Susan Smith’s actions. She added, “This is not a case about evil, but a case of sadness and despair.”
Howard ruled in favor of the defense’s motion to allow the jury to consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. If the jury chose to convict Susan Smith of involuntary manslaughter, she would have gotten a sentence of only three to 10 years in prison.
According to documents, the judge dismissed one of the jurors before the deliberations began. The judge said this was due to a family tie the juror had to the case. An alternate replaced the juror.
Late that evening, after the jurors deliberated for two and a half hours, the verdict was determined that Susan Smith was guilty of two counts of murder.
When the verdict was read, Susan Smith dropped her head and cried.
The penalty phase would begin on July 24, 1995. The same jury that convicted Susan Smith of murder would determine her fate — life in prison or the chair.
The prosecution’s opening statement for the penalty phase of the trial was similar to the one given during the trial. Giese reminded the jury of Susan Smith’s lies during the search.
In the opening statement for the defense, Bruck told the jury that “The greatest punishment for Susan Smith would be life in prison, not death.”
The prosecution began the case by showing a video of Susan Smith lying about the disappearance of her sons. The first tape was of Susan Smith’s plea to the carjacker she gave on Nov. 2, 1994. The second was the interviews Susan Smith had given network programs on the day she confessed, Nov. 3.
One of the three testimonies was given by Eddie Harris, a SLED agent. He testified that while he transported Susan Smith during interrogations, he was surprised by her calmness and disinterest in finding her kids. Harris further testified that Susan Smith once asked how she looked on television.
On July 25, 1995, Susan Smith’s now ex-husband, David Smith, testified, saying, “All my hopes, all my dreams, everything that I had planned for the rest of my life, ended” on Oct. 25, 1994. David Smith cried when talking about the fact he spent nine days believing his wife that a carjacker took his kids.
Howard called a recess for David Smith to collect himself. Reportedly, as Susan Smith was escorted back to the holding cell, she apologized to David Smith softly, but he did not look at her.
After the meeting resumed, Pope raised some topics that could raise some concerns, including the amount of money David Smith was paid for co-writing a book about his life with Susan Smith. He testified he was paid $110,000 and kept $20,000 of the money to help him through the trial due to having to take time off from work.
After about two hours of testimony, lunch recess was called, and David Smith collapsed into his father’s arms after being emotionally drained from giving his testimony.
People were surprised when the defense did not cross-examine David Smith. Bruck later revealed this was due to “his client asking him not to.”
On July 27, the judge finally allowed the prosecution to show images of Michael and Alexander to the jury after they were pulled from the lake. He would only allow certain images, though, as he thought some of the photos were still too graphic. Following this, the prosecution rested its case.
The defense recalled the social worker to the stand. She claimed Susan Smith’s mental health began to deteriorate in August 1994 after the Smiths’ last attempt to reconcile their marriage failed. The social worker explained that David Smith had found the letter Tom Findlay had written to Susan Smith. When David confronted Susan Smith, she confessed to the affair with Tom Findlay’s father, Carey Findlay. David Smith threatened Susan Smith by stating he would reveal the relationship to Findlay’s wife. The social worker said this caused Susan Smith’s suicidal despair to kick in as she had done something unforgivable. Five days after the confrontation, Susan Smith murdered her kids.
Scotty Vaughn testified by stating it seemed sad and ironic that the tragedy of their loss of the boys was going to be used to sentence Susan Smith to death.
On the last day of the penalty phase, Beverly Russell was called to the stand. In his testimony, he took part of the blame for Alexander and Michael’s deaths, admitting he had molested Susan Smith when she was a teen and then had consensual sex with her when she became an adult.
Beverly Russell pleaded for his stepdaughter’s life, telling the jury that Susan Smith was sick and that although she loved her kids, what happened was from a sickness.
The prosecution’s closing statement was given by Pope. He asked the jury to vote for the death penalty, stating there was a theme throughout the case, and that was the choice Susan Smith had made. He added that she chose to send her boys down that boat ramp and that, to take the heinous act even further, she chose to lie about it.
The defense closed things by taking the jury through Susan Smith’s family history and her life experiences. Near the end, Bruck decided to pull out a Bible and read from the Book of John about the woman who committed adultery and was stoned. Bruck read, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” He finished his statement by telling the jury that Susan Smith’s choice will haunt her for the rest of her life.
When the closing statements were finished, Howard gave Susan Smith the opportunity to address the jury for the last time, but she declined.
After two and a half hours, the jury returned with the unanimous decision for Susan Smith to spend the rest of her natural life in prison.
Howard sentenced Susan Smith to 30 years to life in prison, and she will be eligible for parole as of November 2024.
